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Emergency Responders Say They're Now Unpaid "Roadside Assistance" for Confused Waymos
https://futurism.com/advanced-transport/emergency-responders-roadside-assistance-waymoOverseas teleoperators aren’t the only ones stuck cleaning up Waymo’s messes. Emergency responders are also having to swoop in when the blundering robotaxis muck up traffic — and they’re starting to get fed up at having to act as glorified “roadside assistance” for the vehicles, according to reporting by SFGate.
Mary Ellen Carroll, executive director of San Francisco’s Department of Emergency Management, warned that the frequency that police and firefighters have to respond to immobilized Waymos was becoming a public safety issue.
“What has started to happen is that our public safety officers and responders are having to be the ones to physically move [the cars],” Carroll said in testimony during a public hearing on Monday. “In a sense, they’re becoming a default roadside assistance for these vehicles, which we do not think is tenable.”
The hearing was held to discuss the chaos caused by Waymo’s San Francisco fleet when the city suffered a power outage in late December. When traffic lights went dark, the robotaxis became confused, stopped in place, and piled up at intersections, significantly disrupting traffic.
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Mary Ellen Carroll, executive director of San Francisco’s Department of Emergency Management, warned that the frequency that police and firefighters have to respond to immobilized Waymos was becoming a public safety issue.
“What has started to happen is that our public safety officers and responders are having to be the ones to physically move [the cars],” Carroll said in testimony during a public hearing on Monday. “In a sense, they’re becoming a default roadside assistance for these vehicles, which we do not think is tenable.”
The hearing was held to discuss the chaos caused by Waymo’s San Francisco fleet when the city suffered a power outage in late December. When traffic lights went dark, the robotaxis became confused, stopped in place, and piled up at intersections, significantly disrupting traffic.
-snip-
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